Sheriff’s Helicopter Plucks Woman From Creek Below Cliff

A sheriff’s helicopter crew lowered a flight officer on a 100-foot line to rescue a woman from a creek in rugged terrain in Northern California’s wine country after she sent a message saying she was stuck on a cliff.

Footage released by the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office shows the view from helicopter Henry-1 as the Tactical Flight Officer is lowered through the trees, secured to the woman, and then flown out with her hanging beneath the aircraft before being set down on a road.

The sheriff’s office said the woman texted a friend at around 3:30 a.m. on October 17 to say she was stuck on a cliff, but the friend did not see the message until later that morning. Deputies found her vehicle in the 4400 block of Porter Creek Road and Henry-1 was called in at around 10:30 a.m. Warm temperatures limited the helicopter’s thermal camera, so the crew searched by sight until deputies spotted the woman in a creek below, where it appeared she had fallen while the search was under way.

The flight officer, who is also an EMT, strapped her into a rescue seat for the hoist and kept treating her until Sonoma County Fire District paramedics arrived. She was taken to a trauma hospital.